Stats

a more classical airship than my usual style, an old college freind of mine requested this , and i couldn't ressist the challenge it is a skypirates ship, and as such ity is fast, well amrewd and has only a small crew to reduce the need for large ammounts of rations

the ship is mostly based on the writings of a freind of a Friend and as such i don't really know the gritty details , but what i can say is that it transcends the gap between steam and diesel punk, and has technology that can be considered part of both, given that the ship is set in a fictional world where the land is uninhabitable due to sulpher clouds i feel this mix of tech captures the feel of getting by by any means quite well

the hull is a modified sea going vessel , braced with metal, and the super structure is replaced by a new metal structure

additional engines are installed driven by a mix of electirc motors ( charged by solar panels ) and diesel [think ww2 submarines, early hybrid engine, lol]there are two primary variable pitch turbines either side acompanied by a smaller manouvering thruster

additional metal work replaces the ships masts, forming the carraige on which the gas balloon sits, and the wheelhouse and upper deckl structure, situated behind the wheelhouse( oval shaped part on the deck amidships) is the main gas valves , which control helium/hydrogen flow into the balloon , and the main vents

the balloon itself rests ontop of the metal framework, and is then shackled down by cables running along the sides of the ship from bow to stern , a single crowsnest accessable by an internal ladder sits atop the balloon, and also allows access to the upper surface for patchwork repairs on the envelope the balloon itself is actually many individual smaller gas cells inside a larger envelope to prevent a disaster should the envelope fail or be damaged by gunfire

majority of water is recycled as needed, while waste water that is stored forms the ballast tanks in ships bilge

additional fresh water can be collected from the condensation on the balloon envelope , or simply by flying through a cloud with condenser nets deployed

the 'wing' like structures hanging from beneath and from the sides are infact collapsed sails , deployed by steel cables ,. useful only when the wind is heading the way you want to go of course

the cover plates open up and the canvas sail is deployed on collapsable arms

armament is primarily gas powered harpoon , for boarding merchant vessels , there are mounted machine guns and 25 pounder guns, however it is preferable not to blow up the target or there won't be anything left to steal

there is also a small greenhouse in the upper fordeck , this allows basic food crops to be grown , all be it in small quantity

well it does have at least 6, they are just stowed away in the picture , so far i've given it 2 per side, and one rear and forward , the two metal parts you can see above the windows are the covers for the gun mounts ,

to be honest i would have drawn them, but if i had i might have ruined it, as it would have been a really hard job to get the details right

thanks was a lot of work , and a lot of fun too ! , there are a whole bunch of addtional drawings and closeups of the deployed sail etc, plus i have the same ship with some perspective in WIP might upload them soon i hope